


Clint Learns to Fly

by megster



Series: In These Small Hours [4]
Category: Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-05
Updated: 2012-07-05
Packaged: 2017-11-09 05:17:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/451739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megster/pseuds/megster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony makes Clint a suit with a built-in gliding-mechanism thing because Clint likes to jump off of tall buildings. Darcy (and a few others) walk in on Clint while he is changing into the suit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clint Learns to Fly

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what I just wrote. I have too many feelings for these characters, okay?  
> The idea of a gliding suit comes from one of my other stories (In Which the Avengers Take Exception to the Army Meddling in Their Affairs), where Tony is designing a suit for Clint because Clint likes giving his teammates heart attacks during battles.

Clint looks at Tony with glee. “I _knew_ you loved me.” He examines the suit, running his hands over the fabric.

Tony tries to scowl at him, but fails. “Coulson and I talked, and we decided that you jump off of tall buildings way too often for the team’s collective comfort.”

“How does it work?” Clint _loves_ new StarkTech, especially when it’s custom designed for him.

“Just go put it on,” Tony says. “I’ll get my suit on just in case it doesn’t work. It probably will, but this _is_ the first prototype... And better safe than sorry. Natasha and Coulson will both kill me if I let you end up as a splatter on the pavement.”

“You’ve got that right,” says Natasha as she walks through the room.

Tony jumps. “ _When_ did you get here? Jesus Christ, I am _sick and tired_ of working with ninja-spy-assassins.”

Natasha’s lip quirk into an almost-smile as she pauses to look at Tony, and Clint laughs out loud.

“Go put it on,” Tony says, and then leaves to get his own suit.

Natasha walks out too, so Clint shrugs and strips down quickly, shucking off clothing haphazardly.

“ _Oh my god,_ ” he hears. “I should aimlessly wander around this tower more often.”

“Darcy,” Clint growls, then remembers he’s mostly naked.

A wide-eyed Darcy is standing in the doorway, a rather predatory grin on her face. “You know,” Darcy says conversationally. “I thought Steve had a nice little six-pack going, but _damn_ , Clint. How did I not know that my best friend was so fucking smokin’?”

Clint flushes a little in spite of himself before recovering and saying, “And here I thought Jane was your best friend was your best friend. I’m touched.”

“She _was_ my best friend,” Darcy explains, “Until just now. Jane doesn’t have a six-pack.”

Clint chooses to ignore this, and instead asks, “Don’t you ever _knock_?”

Darcy gives him an odd look. “First of all,” she says, “This is a common area. People walk in and out of this room pretty often. Secondly, there’s no door to knock on. It’s just a doorway.”

Clint frowns a little, because she has a point. Before he can say anything though, Pepper walks in.

“Oh my _god_ ,” she says breathlessly. “I am _so_ sorry.”

Pepper has possibly turned as red as her hair.

Darcy is laughing soundlessly, collapsing against the wall helplessly.

Clint groans. “You’re fine, Pepper. I’m wearing boxers.”

“Not for long,” Darcy says, grinning. “You never wear boxers underneath your field uniform.”

“Huh,” Clint says thoughtfully. “How did you know that?” He’s genuinely curious as to how she knows.

Pepper buries her face in her hands and spins on her heel, walking out the way she came.

“You scared Pepper away,” Darcy scolds. 

“ _I_ scared Pepper,” Clint protests. “ _You_ scared her!”

“You’re the one standing there without clothes on,” Darcy retorts. “Come on, then, I wouldn’t say no to seeing your fine ass.”

Clint sighs heavily. “Leave so I can take off my boxers-”

“Um, I could come back later,” a new voice says, and both Clint and Darcy turn to see a blushing Bruce.

“For the love of God,” Clint says, wondering whether to laugh or cry.

Darcy is laughing again. She might actually have tears in her eyes. She grabs Bruce’s arm cheerfully and pulls him out of the room, trying to explain the situation amidst her peals of laughter.

Clint throws off his boxers and gets the new suit on faster than he’s ever put on _anything_. He’s ridiculously relieved that no one else walks in on him. 

*          *          *

“So I just say wings and spread out my fingers?” Clint tries it a few times. Every time, extraneous material releases itself from the suit and stiffens slightly. When he closes his hands, the fabric neatly tucks itself back into the suit. An onlooker would never be able to tell that the suit had gliding capabilities.

“Yeah,” Tony says. “This way it shouldn’t hinder you during a fight. The wings- well, not really wings, more of a membrane- only come out when you need them.”

“You look a bit like a flying squirrel,” Darcy says. She and Bruce have come to watch Clint jump off of Avengers Tower.

“Actually,” Tony says, “I did model the fabric extensions after flying squirrels.”

“Cute,” Clint mutters. He takes a peek over the side of the tower. The people milling around the streets look like ants.

He doesn’t have a problem with heights, but generally when he flings himself off of buildings, it’s during a fight. There’s adrenaline rushing through him and he’s focused on his mission. It’s different when it’s calm and sunny and he’s supposed to just _jump_.

“Just go,” Tony says, lifting himself into the air. “I’ll catch you if it doesn’t work.”

Clint takes a deep breath, because he is going to do this, damnit, he is fucking Hawkeye, and Hawkeye never backs down.

He backs up several yards and takes a running start before leaping off of the ledge.

He hears Darcy yelp as he plummets towards the ground. 

“ _Wings_ ,” he says sharply, and spreads out his hands.

It’s like the jerk after opening a parachute. He instantly slows, and he finds that he can control his descent remarkably well by tilting his body from side to side.

“I am a _genius_!” Tony proclaims as he zooms around Clint. “I am a fucking genius!”

Clint whoops. “This is fucking _awesome_ ,” he shouts. “I am a fucking _hawk_!”

He soars around, only clipping a few windows here and there. 

He’s having way too much fun until Tony plucks him out of the sky. “Hey,” he says, trying not to sound too whiny.

“Easy, killer,” Tony says. Clint can hear the smile in his voice. “I don’t really want you landing yet. We should practice that and I may want to make modifications to the suit. I’m gonna call it the wingsuit. Is that good with you? Hell, why am I asking you? You don’t give a fuck about what I call it.” He pauses. “Do you want to jump again?”

“ _Hell_ yeah,” Clint says, grinning maniacally. 

Tony deposits him back onto the rooftop, where Bruce gives him a delighted fist bump and Darcy gives him a hug. “I’m glad you didn’t die,” she says to him.

“Hey, I wouldn’t have let him die,” Tony says, offended.

Darcy just grins at him. “I’m glad you didn’t die, too.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Tony complains, but he sounds mollified. “Hey, Clint, give a guy a warning next time-”

Clint leaps off again, soaring more gracefully this time. “I’m getting better,” he says happily.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony grumbles, keeping pace easily with him. “How many more times are you going to do this?”

*          *          *

Clint walks into the kitchen for dinner with his hair still ruffled by the wind. “Tony is my favorite,” he announces to the room at large, crashing into the seat between Phil and Darcy.


End file.
